Oshkosh for FOD and me is usually mostly unplanned and organic. That’s still the case. But we’re planning on a few touch points during our stay Wednesday 25 July through Saturday 28 July.

Wednesday 25 July (or almost any other evening after other stuff is done) Evening – Firebase Airspeed Informal Get-Togethers

I’m arriving Wednesday by car and will tweet or otherwise broadcast the lat/long of Firebase Airspeed, my campsite in Scholler shortly after arrival. Unlike in past years, I’ll probably be a little more remote with more room for FOD to build a fire and destroy things, as 10-year-olds are wont to do. I’ll bring my usual assortment of musical instruments (guitars, pipes, whistles, etc.) and any who are moved to sing, speak, or perform interpretive dances will be given due attention. Frankly, this stuff will likely go on every evening to some extent, but Wednesday seems to be the least conflicted. Please wander by if you’re in the neighborhood. Very informal. No reservations or necktie required. Watch for lat/long in my Twitter feed (@StephenForce).

Thursday 26 July 6:00 to 8:00 pm – UCAP Tiedown Party

The Uncontrolled Airspace podcast will hold its annual beer bust at the “Super-8 Gate” (43.993717,-88.574626) near the northwest corner of the field. BYO or drink what’s there. I plan to be prancing about with that dreaded round bottle of rocket fuel as well. This is the first year that the UCAP beer thing and the Sennheiser/ myTransponder Podapalooza/social media thing have been deconflicted, so we have the opportunity to hang with Jack, Jeb, and Dave. Please show up and show Jack Hodgson , Jeb Burnside , and Dave Higdon the love. I’ll be there doing the same.

Friday 27 July 11:30 am to 1:00 pm – IAC Presentation

David Allen and I will be presenting at the IAC Pavilion on the grounds. The topic is “Shooting Aerobatic Video.” There will also be updates on post-production, etc. The IAC Pavilion is a few hundred feet back from the crowd line at show center. Lots of people have already RSVP’ed and I’m sure that they’d welcome the opportunity to meet you.

Friday 27 July 6:00 pm to ??? – Podapalooza

myTransponder and Sennheiser USA will be hosting Podapalooza at the Sennheiser tent. New-media and social-media personalities will abound. More prancing and more dreaded round bottle, too. Come by and meet your favorite new- and social-media personalities.

I picked up the new hardware for this year’s Firebase Airspeed a few weeks ago at Costco and the weather was nice enough this weekend that we set it up and slept in it last night. Partially to figure out how the tent goes together, but also to get Cole in the tent and make sure that he’s accustomed to sleeping there before we hit Camp Scholler in earnest.

We also cooked out. Velveeta Mac and Cheese – the official Airspeed meal of choice for Oshkosh.

We’ll podcast and post our GPS coordinates once we get settled in and will be delighted to see any visitors who decide to amble by.

We’re planning on Wednesday through Saturday again this year, but might expand it a little one way or the other. I’ve been in contact with EAA Radio and might be doing some volunteer work for them, both in pre-production and onsite during the event. It comes down to what Fareed and his crew need and what I can provide. Watch this space!

Ron Klutts and I have carried on a correspondence for more than a year and we finally met in person at AirVenture Oshkosh this summer. Ron and a friend had flown all the way from Palo Alto and had made a two-week ossyssey out of the OSH trip.

So when I thought about doing a show on going places (far-away places) Ron naturally came to mind. In this episode, we talk about long-distance GA flying. How to plan, what to take, how to pack, and other lessons learned from two nearly trans-continental trips.

It’s approaching winter here in the northern hemisphere. For a lot of us, that means that snow on the ground and icing in the skies will soon be a daily fact of life. If you’re on the edge of getting that elusive certificate or rating and trying to make the decision about whether to do a sprint to get it done before winter comes in earnest or wait until spring, here’s your wake-up call to put on those spikes and get your toes set in those blocks.

You say you’re nailing your slow flight or your eights on pylons or your precision approaches and you’re ready to fly the examiner, but you haven’t done the knowledge test yet? Well don’t let the knowledge test stop you from getting that certificate or rating this fall!

Gleim knowledge transfer systems can help you learn the information you need to know quickly and efficiently. Gleim uses actual FAA knowledge test questions so you’re prepared for the subject matter, form, and style of the questions and can walk into the exam with confidence.

I’m not saying that Gleim will do the work or that you won’t have to apply yourself. Nothing worth doing is easy. But if you’re ready to put in the work and want materials that will make efficient use of your time and make your study efforts pay off, Gleim knowledge transfer materials are your best friends.

I have a more-than-full-time job as a lawyer and I write and lecture frequently on top of that. I also have two small children and a wife who works full time so I have plenty to do around the house. When I drove a stake into the ground and said that this would be the year for the instrument rating, one of the first things I did was go get fresh Gleim study preparation software and the Gleim audio for the instrument rating. I used the software in the early mornings and at lunch to go through study sessions that helped me to nail the exam questions. I carried around the print version of the Gleim knowledge transfer outline so that I could study during spare moments and so that I’d have the full-color figures of the IFR en route charts and other provided materials for the knowledge test. And I listened to the Gleim audio while I pulled the kids around the neighborhood in the wagon.

I worked hard at it and the Gleim materials made every spare minute count.So if you’re thinking about making a sprint to finish that certificate or rating before the snow flies, don’t put it off because of the knowledge test. Get Gleim knowledge transfer materials and then make every minute count with concise outlines, real FAA test questions, and audio that turns drive time (or walking time) into study time.

Gleim has knowledge transfer systems for Sport Pilot, Private Pilot, Instrument Pilot, Commercial Pilot, Flight/Ground Instructor, Airline Transport Pilot, Multi-Engine, and Flight Engineer and even specialty materials like refresher courses great for use before your BFR or Instrument Proficiency Check. No matter how you learn best, Gleim packages the information in a way that’s right for you. From online courses like Gleim’s Online Ground School to test-prep CD-ROMs to books and audio programs, Gleim has a system that’s right for your learning style.Drive your own stake into the ground, commit to that sprint, and get that certificate or rating. Then, when things get green again, you’ll be ready for that next great adventure instead of staring that same old barrier in the face.Gleim has knowledge transfer systems for Sport Pilot, Private Pilot, Instrument Pilot, Commercial Pilot, Flight/Ground Instructor, Airline Transport Pilot, and Flight Engineer.

And, for a limited time, by special arrangement with Airspeed, Gleim will give Airspeed listeners 25% off their purchases of Gleim pilot kits. That’s right. Just give the promotional code “ASPD” at the time of your order and Gleim will knock 25% off your Gleim pilot kit just for being an Airspeed listener.

You can reach Gleim at http://www.gleim.com/ or call them up on the phone at (800) 874-5346 and remember to use the promotional code “ASPD” to get your 25% Airspeed listener discount for a limited time only.

This morning outside the showers at Camp Scholler. Charging up Cole’s DVD player and my laptop and doing another blog post.

Cole peeks out of the left side window of Duggy – The Smile in the Sky, an EAA-operated DC-3. We later say the Liberty Parachute Team exit Duggy over the show.

How do you know it’s raining at Oshkosh? Check out the herd of fellow enthusiasts lined up instinctively under the wing of the C-5A. Lots of similar formations around the field as it spat rain on and off all day. Thunderstorms most of the night, but we stayed dry in the tent. Cole’s shoes were the only real victims.

A unique camping conveyance. Look closely . . .

Yep. This guy doesn’t mess around. It was 90+ F with little wind in the middle of the open fields of the ‘teens at Camp Scholler and this guy was looking awfully smart to me.